Donna's World
by PompeiiT
Summary: An alternate take on Turn Left from series 4, from Rose's POV. "Earth? Hasn't been called that in a long time, love. Welcome to Hell." Planet Earth has been consumed by paradoxes. Earth is occupied, the human race have been reduced to nothing… and then Rose Tyler shows up.
1. He's Dead

**Chapter One: "He's Dead"**

"Activate!"

Rose wasn't sure how the next few seconds would pan out for her. If it all went well, which it usually did... usually... then she'd materialise on a new planet, in a new universe. A new Earth - almost like the one she visited with the Doctor, except less alien, and without cat people and bitchy trampolines trying to enact their revenge. Of course, if all of this didn't go to plan, she could be ripped apart and the barriers between the universes could very well disintegrate completely.

Thankfully, however, things went smoothly, and Rose knew instantly where she was. London, England. A unique fragrance greeted her nostrils - made up of pollution, pigeons, and alcohol. Lots of alcohol.

Rose, having arrived in a particularly unappealing alleyway, wandered out onto the main street. It was busier than she expected - parties of drunk colleagues staggering past her, all wearing some kind of tinsel decoration on their head. Brightly coloured lights were strung between buildings - snowmen and reindeer and stars. Rose smiled. It was Christmas.

Christmas always was a special time for Rose. She'd always thought back to that fateful Christmas day when she was attacked by evil Santa robots, her living room was destroyed by a Christmas tree, and the newly regenerated Doctor lost his hand in a sword fight with blood controlling aliens on their ship above London. Not your average Christmas, granted, but it was special to her. That was the day she met him. Well, the new him - _her_ Doctor.

Rose snapped out of her reminiscing when she felt the buzz of the street change... Cheering and singing turned into gasps and screams, and people - very quickly - began to run. Rose looked up into the frosty night sky, and there it was. A huge star, flying through the sky, like a balloon that had escaped from some parade. But this was no balloon. It was firing lightning bolts from the points of the star... one of which was coming directly towards her.

She ran. As fast as she could, for as long as she could, Rose Tyler ran. She understood what was happening, she'd seen this scenario before in other parallel Earths - so she knew exactly where to run. Underneath the Thames right now, the Doctor would be battling the Empress of the Racnoss, and this time she was sure she'd be able to see him. She'd tried and failed before, but she had a feeling that this Earth was special.

Then all hell broke loose. Missiles were flying through the sky, and the webs holding the star together began crashing to the ground. Like a game of deadly hopscotch, Rose managed to dodge all the falling debris - but she noticed that some weren't so lucky. A group of blokes were helping their friend, clearly injured by some shrapnel, ensuring him that an ambulance would be on the way soon. Rose wasn't so certain, given the fact that the greater London area would most likely be dialling 999 at this very moment, all panicking, all terrified.

At the end of the road, there was a crowd of people, behind some kind of barricade? Flashing lights, sirens, the whole lot. There was bound to be _someone_ there who knew where the Doctor might be.

Just as she reached the crowd of people, she saw a van driving away, and a woman strolling towards her. Fairly plain looking, ginger hair, all dressed up, clearly she's come from a night out. Rose skidded to a halt and, barely able to breathe, spluttered "What happened?!" at the woman. "What happened, sorry - did they find someone?"

The lady shrugged. "I dunno."

Rose looked back at the crowd, drifting away from whatever this lady was saying. Great, out of all the people she could choose to talk to, she'd picked someone who hadn't a clue- Wait a minute, did she say 'the Doctor'? Rose spun back around to look at her. "Well, where is he?" This was it. He was here, somewhere, Rose knew it. She'd finally get to see him again.

"They took him away. He's dead."

Rose just stared, taking her time to process what she'd heard. Dead. He was dead.

"I'm sorry, did you know him? I mean, they didn't say his name. Could be any doctor."

Rose began to wander off. She'd done the one thing she promised herself she'd never do. Rose got her hopes up. For the first time in years, Rose had been hopeful, and then she'd been so cruelly smacked back into reality. "I came so far."

"It could be anyone."

This woman was starting to properly get on Rose's nerves. What did she know, she knew nothing. The Doctor wasn't just anyone. Rose spun around to look at her, and just as she was about to start mouthing off, Rose realised who she was talking to. She'd seen her before, she just knew it. "What's your name?"

"Donna."

Rose recognised the name. Donna. Suddenly, things just got really messy. In her travels across various universes, Rose had picked up some information about the Doctor's future after she left. This was the Donna that should've been there to save the Doctor.

"And you?"

Rose couldn't allow herself to get involved any further. She had to go, she had to leave this world as soon as she could. But... there was something wrong. Something on Donna's back, something Rose couldn't quite put her finger on. "Oh, I was just passing by. I shouldn't even be here. This is wrong. It's wrong, this is so wrong." Donna was starting to notice Rose's staring. Time to change the subject. "Sorry, what was it? Donna what?"

"Why do you keep looking at my back?"

"I'm not" Rose could kick herself. Of all the lies she could have come up with, she said... that. She'd totally blown it.

"Yes you are. You keep looking behind me." Donna was starting to get agitated. "You're doing it now. What is it? What's there?"

* * *

Just as Donna went to check her back, Rose found herself fading away. Back 'home'. The Dimension Cannon had delivered yet another failure. This one was even worse - not only had she missed the Doctor, he'd been killed. Rose was about to cry, when she remembered Donna. What was that on her back? Intrigued, Rose decided to make a note. The next time she used the Dimension Cannon, she'd travel back to Donna's world and figure things out. If the Doctor liked Donna enough to take her on as a companion, then Rose felt it was her duty to protect her - even in a parallel universe.

_Help_ _Donna, _wrote Rose. Did she have the time, though, she wondered. The only reason she could travel to Donna's world was because the barriers between universes was breaking down, did she really want to waste her opportunity of finding the Doctor? No, thought Rose, maybe this alternate Donna could be her ticket to finding the real Doctor once and for all. Somehow. Maybe. It was a long shot, admittedly, but Rose was getting desperate.

It was late. Surely Mum and Mickey would be worried about her. Just as Rose was about to power down the machines for the night, she noticed something. A blip, there, something's happened. The universe she was just in - Donna's world - the machinery was picking up all sorts of paradoxes. Worried, Rose powered the Dimension Cannon back up, inputting the coordinates, and waited to be teleported.

* * *

Bang. She wasn't in London any more, at least not by the looks of things. It was darker. Foggier. Quieter. Weirder.

"What the 'ell do you think you're doing?!" whispered a voice. "Get off the streets, you silly girl!"

It was an older man, dressed in drab, grey clothes, unshaven and scruffy. Rose ducked down a side street and he pulled her to the side. "What are you playing at? On the streets well past the curfew?"

"Curfew? Sorry, I don't understand. This _is_ Earth, right?"

"Earth?" The man scoffed. "Hasn't been called that in a long time, love. Welcome to Hell."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

_**Author's note:**_The idea for this story came to me when rewatching Turn Left. The only problem I have with that story is... there's no way Earth wouldn't get invaded in the Doctor's absence. This story, hopefully, should fix that. Maybe. We'll see. Of course, credit to Russell T Davies for the Rose/Donna conversation dialogue, and if anyone else has come up with this idea before me then... sorry, I guess. Thanks for reading!


	2. Wilfred Mott

**Chapter Two: "Wilfred Mott"**

"It all started on Christmas day," began the man - who, Rose had come to learn, was called Wilfred Mott. Wilf for short. He handed her a cup of something brown that Rose was choosing to think was tea. "Do you remember? Big star over London, I was laid up with Spanish flu. That's when it all went wrong."

"Wrong... how?" said Rose, taking a sip of the suspicious liquid and deciding that was probably enough. She set it down on the coffee table. Wilf's front room was an interesting one, like two worlds collided. Half dystopian battleground, half an old person's home. The walls were made of corrugated metal sheeting, with holes for windows cruelly cut out, and some clear plastic stuck over it trying (and failing) to keep the heat in. Meanwhile, the furniture had been plucked straight out of the 1970s, complete with tatty armchairs, tasteless curtains, and wooden tables.

"Well, where do I start? It's difficult to remember, sometimes. Everything happened, all at the once. And I mean everything. One minute the hospital was taken to the moon, the next it was back but everyone was dead. Then the planet was ruled by these witches who loved Shakespeare... then them Daleks were turning humans into robots, all sorts was going on. Even little people made of fat."

"And this happened over how long?"

"No no no, you don't see, do you? When I say everything happened at once, I don't just mean over a few days or weeks... I mean literally, it all happened that very night. Different versions of planet Earth, being flicked on and off like light switches."

It finally clicked. The Doctor dying underneath the Thames meant he couldn't be there to stop the invasions, so the aliens were successful. All of them. The version of this Earth in which she met Donna just so happened to be one that had stayed relatively normal. "So then what happened?" Rose asked, trying her luck with something that closely resembled a sandwich.

"They stepped in. The Shadow whatsit."

"Shadow Proclamation?"

"Yeah. The Shadow Proclamation. Saw that everything had gone wrong, so put the planet under quarantine. Martial law. Who'd have thought it, eh? We're being ruled by rhinos." Wilf laughed. Rose admired him, even in the darkest of times, he still saw the funny side of things. "That's why we've got curfews. If they catch you in the streets after 7 o'clock, they send you to a detention camp to keep you under control. No funny business. Rhinos don't have much of a sense of humour."

"But what about all the different timelines? The paradoxes, did they get fixed?"

"Oh, no. We're still stuck in this... limbo, you see. They've frozen us all in one second. Earth - the planet that time forgot. I don't call it 'hell' for nothing."

Rose took another sip of the tea. What would the Doctor do, she thought. Well, for starters... he'd help. Help anyone, help everyone. And he'd probably go looking for Donna too. Sort out whatever was going on with the thing on her back. "Wilf... you don't happen to know anyone called Donna, do you? Tall-ish, ginger hair, bit mouthy?"

"Donna? Yeah, that's my granddaughter. Why?"

Rose smiled. Bingo.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

_**Author's note:**_ I appreciate that wasn't the most action-packed of chapters, and it was a bit on the short side, but I wanted to set up the world that Rose has found herself in, and I was desperate to get Wilf in the story ASAP. I love Wilf. As ever, thanks for reading!


	3. Tell Me Your Name

**Chapter Three: Tell Me Your Name**

Wilf's sofa wasn't the most comfortable bed in the world, but it wasn't that which contributed to Rose's lack of sleep. Most of the night was spent lying there thinking - about Wilf, about Earth, but mostly about Donna. Wilf had promised that today they'd go round to talk to her, and Rose was sure there'd be fireworks.

* * *

It wasn't a long walk to Donna's place, but it was a quiet one. There weren't many people roaming the streets, and when they did pass someone, the stranger would silently shuffle past, staring at the ground. Donna's house was remarkably similar to Wilf's - in fact, so was every house on this street. And the next street. And the rest of the town. Row upon row of these flatpack tin can homes.

Wilf rattled on the metal front door, and eventually a tired, middle-aged woman answered the door. Donna.

"Donna, this girl. She knows you. Wants to talk to you." Wilf explained, before brushing past his granddaughter and disappearing into her house.

Donna looked Rose up and down, trying to figure out where she knew her from. Then it clicked. "You're the one. Christmas Eve. You were in town."

Rose looked awkwardly at the ground. "Donna. Hi."

"Hi. What was your name?"

"How're you doing? You're looking... good." Rose smiled. Donna scoffed. Rose gulped, this wasn't going to be easy. "How're things, what've you been up to?" Rose took a quick glimpse at Donna's back. It - whatever 'it' was - was still there.

Donna closed over the door, and stepped closer to Rose, her arms crossed and her brow furrowed. "Who the 'ell do you think you are?" Then she noticed. She looked over her shoulder. "You're doing it. Again. You're looking behind me. People keep on doing that, looking at my back."

"What sort of people?"

"People in the street. People in the factory. Not everyone, but... Strangers. I just catch them sometimes, staring at me. Like they're looking at something. And then I come home, or I get to a mirror, and there's... nothing there." She checked her back again. "Now even I'm doing it, it's like I'm paranoid."

Progress, thought Rose. "Can I come in?"

"Are you mad? I don't know who you are, there's no way you're getting inside my house. And- and you're even wearing the same clothes."

"No I'm not-"

"Do you think I'm stupid? A purple leather jacket, you stick out like a sore thumb. Who are you!?" Donna stepped closer again, forcing Rose to stumble backwards.

"Listen, Donna, I'm not even supposed to be in this universe, I only came back because I wanted to help you-" Rose fell backwards over some rocks, landing in a pile of black bin bags. Donna towered over her.

"Are you just talking for the sake of it? Stop talking rubbish, just tell me your name!" Donna grabbed Rose by the lapels and lifted her back up. "That Christmas Eve, that was the night when all of our lives turned into nothing, and you show up out of the blue now and it's like... it's like you're enjoying this? It's sick, is what it is, just sick!"

"Donna!"

Donna let Rose go, and spun around. Wilf was standing in the doorway, looking distressed. Then both Donna and Rose realised why. Standing across the street was a group of three creatures - tall, dressed in bulky black armour and heavy boots. One of them stepped forward and removed their helmet to reveal the head of a rhinoceros. These were the creatures Wilf was talking about last night.

"Earthlings!" barked what Rose assumed to be the leader of the platoon. "Platoon 382 have witnessed a serious case of disturbing the peace."

"No!" Donna spluttered. "It was just a joke, we were only having fun, I swear!" she cried, putting her arm around Rose and letting out a fake laugh. Rose joined in. "We're best friends, honest!" Donna lied.

"Incorrect." The Judoon Captain plugged a small red device into his chest, and soon a recording of Donna's voice began playing. _"Are you mad? I don't know who you are, there's no way you're getting inside my house." _Donna shook her head. The Judoon Captain removed the device and stepped closer to the pair. "Earthlings, you are charged with disturbing the peace. Sentence - 100 days imprisonment!"

Donna became hysterical. "You can't lock me up, I've got a job, I've got a family, I've got- I've got a _reputation_!"

"100 days in prison just for shouting in the street?" asked Rose, realising that perhaps the better idea would've been to stay out of Donna's way entirely.

"Justice is swift." growled the Captain. The two other Judoon officers marched behind Rose and Donna, and despite Donna and Wilf's protests, the two girls were cuffed.

"Where are you taking them, you swines?" shouted Wilf.

"Prison camp designated 42B/19. Visiting orders not permitted."

Donna sighed. Rose turned to her. "Do you know where that is? 42B/19?"

Laughing, Donna stared at Rose. "Bloody Siberia!"

"Wha-" began Rose, but the two girls - along with the three Judoon - had teleported before she had the chance to finish. Sometimes, thought Rose, it'd be really great if she were able to keep her nose out of other people's business. Rose was sure there'd be fireworks, but she wasn't expecting this. Bloody Siberia.

* * *

_**Author's note: **_Some of the dialogue has been _borrowed_ from Russell T Davies' Turn Left, from the scene depicting Donna and Rose's second meeting. Thanks for reading!


End file.
